Breadcrumb

Patiently waiting for her small aircraft flight for three years, Margaret Langley, Antioch Elementary School’s Media Assistant, recently had her wish come true! The day before the annual ‘Marvel of Flight’ show in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, Marge was able to soar to new heights in a Zenith Zodiac aircraft built and piloted by Gary Bean, a retired Air Force pilot and member of the Fort Walton Beach Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 108.

Before the start of the 'Marvel of Flight’ show, Bean and several other pilots from the Fort Walton Beach Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 108, gave Young Eagle Flights to a group of 4th and5th grades during their school field trip. There were five aircraft standing in static display and the pilots briefed over 100 students about flight, the aircraft, and the Young Eagles program. According to Langley, she and the students were very impressed with the pilot’s verbal expertise of flight and planes. Shortly after the presentation, Bean graciously offered Langley the opportunity to take a flight with him.

Before taking off, Langley was taught how to board the plane correctly and learned about the checkoff list that all pilots must go through before flight. Once onboard the plane, the headsets (which are the most essential and only form of communication) were worn. Contact with the airport’s tower was made, and then they took off into the beautiful sunny day for an exhilarating flight. The pair flew over DeFuniak Springs and Crestview, Florida, including locations familiar to Langley, such as the Bob Sikes Airport and Antioch Elementary School, the school where she devotes so much of her time.

Langley expressed thanks to Bean for the wonderful flight and making her dream become a reality. She also thanked Tom Godbold, also a retired Air Force pilot from the Fort Walton Beach Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 108, for arranging the flight for her; and Laura Pink, for being the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) liaison for ten years and making aviation seem like such a very exciting adventure at Antioch Elementary School.

Reflecting back to a time when Pink taught her how to use the flight simulator, Marge stated: “the simulation experience taught her many things about flight and was one of the reasons she had been looking forward to navigating into the sky.”